


Ryodo

by Inu_Sama



Series: NARUTO FICS [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Dark Uzumaki Naruto, M/M, POV Third Person, POV Third Person Limited, POV Third Person Plural, Slow To Update, Smart Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-07-06 22:51:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15895758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inu_Sama/pseuds/Inu_Sama
Summary: "How did it go?" A deep voice rasped, like they hadn't had a drink of water in decades. The man was amused at his own thoughts, sparing a small smile under his mask before he turned to the emaciated body of his ancestor. He got to his knees and bowed his head in submission when those piercing red eyes focused on him, the gaze heavy and searching."As well as can be expected. A plan never survives first contact with the enemy, after all."





	1. Warui Hito

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just cleaned things up a little.

**Inu/Kakashi**

Inu-san watched dispassionately as the heavens opened up with a low rumble of thunder, the tension in the air finally breaking as the humidity reached its peak.

He could hear his platoon sigh in relief, lifting up their masks enough to feel the first cool wind in days soothe their sticky, sweaty faces as it whipped through their little part of the world.

Sometimes it got unbearably hot under the porcelain, so he couldn't fault them for trying to find some sort of relief from it. As long as they didn't completely take them off, it should be fine.  
  
The ominous black clouds above abruptly burst and lost all their colour, unable to handle the strain of so much accumulated moisture. Inu-san was unbothered by the downpour, barely adjusting his grip on the thick branch beneath him as he glared out into the forest surrounding the little cottage on the outskirts of the village.

He had a foreboding feeling that slithered through his mind, whispering horrible things into his ear. Every nerve in his body felt like a livewire, screaming at him that something was wrong, that it wasn't _just_ a storm.   
  
The Hokage had dismissed his concerns, of course. Minato-Sensei just wanted everything to be perfect for his wife, and he could understand that.

They were already in enough danger that he didn't want to add his surrogate son/brother's paranoia to the list. The Yellow Flash was here with his wife and there were ANBU stationed around the little cottage to protect them, himself included.

But Inu-san couldn't help but be worried anyway, he'd heard from Kushina-sama that the Seal would be weakened during childbirth. The Jinchuuriki would be vulnerable for the next day and a half, give or take.

He didn't like that, Kushina-sama was such a strong woman, it was hard to hear her be in such pain. Hiruzen-sama had made the couple travel out into the woods, just in case the kyuubi was unleashed.

The fact that the Third also thought something would go wrong, didn't make the queasy feeling in his gut any better.

Another scream wrenched itself from the cottage and filtered up to the anxious ANBU commander, making him flinch. Boar-san, who was stationed on the roof, turned to him with a sad tilt to his head.

"Inu-sama, everything will be okay. Kushina-sama is strong, she'll get through this."

"Yeah, try to relax, Hancho." A feminine voice suggested from behind him and Inu-san sighed, making a concerted effort to at least look relaxed.

"Thanks, team." He said quietly, grimacing behind his mask. Just because they told him to relax... _maa_ it wasn't that easy.

"Anytime, boss!" Eagle-san chirped, the owner of the female voice before. She was a little too boisterous for an ANBU officer, but she still had the skills to back it up so most didn't bother trying to get her to change.

He made sure to stay still when the next scream reached his ears, if only so his team would focus on their task instead of trying to make him feel better.

The smell of ozone thickened suddenly, making his sensitive nose twitch and the hairs on his arms prickle.

 _'Here it comes…'_ He thought in grim anticipation, his fingers twitching with unchecked energy. He had a strong Lightning affinity, so of course he would draw power from a storm like this, whether he wanted to or not.

It made him ansty and on edge, like he was nothing but a bunch of bouncing electrodes. It only heightened his already frazzled nerves.   
  
The air felt charged and dangerous as an astronomical amount of Chakra swirled around the little shack. He sucked in a breath as deafening thunder visibly rippled through the clouds like echoes across a water's surface.

There was a scream, different this time, younger and full of despair and Inu-san tensed. The baby was born, but something about the way it was crying irked him. Something was wrong. As if on cue, Minato-Sensei shouted and then burst out of the cottage holding a small bundle in his arms.

"Eagle-san! To me!" The Hokage demanded, fear and anger in his voice as he spun on his heel to look at them. Eagle-san was by his side in a second, Inu-san preparing to join them when narrowed blue eyes found his.

"Inu-san, go find Hiruzen. Tell him to put the village on high alert, there's been an attack--" His voice cracked, but the fire in his eyes was no less diminished.

Inu-san's eyes widened, an attack?! How?! How did someone get past them?! He had no time to think about it as the other ANBU sprung into action and his Hokage was ordering him to leave - leave?! He couldn't just leave them! He had to make sure his precious people were safe! He had to protect them!

"Go!" Minato-Sensei ordered as he handed the child off to Eagle-san. Despite all his instincts telling him to stay with his Hokage, make sure Kushina-sama was okay, he did as he was told.

He'd had too many years of conditioning to openly disobey his superior when the situation was obviously so dire. He just hoped Kushina-sama was okay.

 

* * *

**Minato**

Minato was panicking, somewhat. Despite the guard he'd stationed, someone had managed to get to them. After sending Naruto off with Eagle-san, Minato rushed back into the cottage with the three other ANBU officers hot on his heels.

He knew he shouldn't have left Kushina alone with their enemy, but he'd had to get Naruto out. She would never forgive him if something happened to him.

"Oi! Get away from her!" Minato growled, throwing a kunai at the shinobi bent over his wife as he raced towards them. He was shocked when the weapon just _slipped through_ his chest before embedding itself into the wall behind him.

An orange mask with a swirling pattern snapped to face him and Minato could now see that his hands were wrist-deep in the Kyuubi seal

He froze in shock and fear. But then Kushina whimpered, her face pale as sweat stuck her normally vibrant red hair to her forehead and with an angry roar, Minato charged the stranger.

He was going to rip him apart for touching his wife - but it was too late. The Seal was already broken. With a dark chuckle, the enemy-nin vanished as swirls of bright orange chakra began to tunnel out of the hole in Kushina's stomach.

"You can't stop this, Minato-sama." The deep voice echoed through the cottage bedroom, barely heard over the raging storm thrashing against the windows and Kushina's screams.

The Kyuubi was free. He couldn't stop it from leaving, that would only do more damage to his wife than necessary.

Minato let out a shaky breath and ran to his dying wife, his heart breaking into a million pieces. He held her down so she couldn't bash her head against the wall as she writhed, the kyuubi's malicious chakra tearing out of her in the most painful way possible.

He could feel the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, his vision going blurry. He whispered sweet nothings to her as he stroked her hair back and wiped the tears from her sickly pale cheeks. He apologised over and over for leaving her, for not protecting her.

It wasn't long before the Kyuubi was completely gone and for the villagers to start screaming. Kushina collapsed, boneless onto the stained mattress like someone had cut her strings.

Her breathing was coming in pained rapid wheezes that told him she had internal bleeding. Kami, her organs were probably completely wrecked after all that.

Minato knew it was only her Uzumaki vitality that was keeping her alive right now. Despite wishing different, he also knew it wouldn't be long until she shut down. It was simply too much for the human body to handle.

"Hokage-sama, what do you want us to do?" Boar-san, ever level headed, crouched down behind him, head bowed in submission. Minato sniffed back the tears that wanted to fall, pushing his grief to the side.

He had to be a Hokage right now, much as he just wanted to curl up into a ball next to Kushina and die with her. But he couldn't. There was nothing he could do for his wife, but he could still save the village. He could still save his son.

In one fluid motion, Minato picked up his wife, whispering one more apology to her as he carried her out of the bedroom. The ANBU parted for them before arranging themselves around him in a protective circle.

He was only going outside, however, and handed Kushina gently to Boar-san. Minato knelt in the mud and pulled out a piece of chakra paper. It already had the seal he wanted on it, so all he had to do was cut the palm of his hand with a kunai and slam both into the ground.

The ground shook and then cracked, reforming itself into a small altar covered in seals. Minato used some of his blood to summon a very specific toad from Mount Myōboku.

The Scroll Toad appeared in a small puff of white smoke, curious expression turning horrified when it's slitted eyes found Kushina barely hanging on to life behind his contractor.

"Gerotora, give this to Jiraiya and no one else. Make sure he keeps it at Mount Myōboku, okay?" He handed the shocked toad a copy of the scroll he'd used to summon the altar. The toad nodded, quickly absorbing the seal into his body.

He gasped as information of what the scroll contained made its way to his mind and he looked at his contractor with grief and sadness.

 _" I had wished, that when you came up with this, that it would never be needed." _ Glowing yellow eyes flicked over to Kushina, who was getting weaker by the minute.

 _" But I see there is no other choice. Good luck, Minato-sama." _ Gerotora said grimly before disappearing in another puff of smoke. Minato took a calming breath and turned to his anxious subordinates.

"Fish-san, Rat-san, go find Eagle-san and bring Naruto here. Keep my family safe. I'll be back." Without waiting for them to go do as ordered, Minato raced towards the sounds of screaming and the animalistic roars of the demon fox.

He bit his thumb again, reopening the healing wound and slammed a chakra-filled palm onto the ground. Gamabunta, the King of the Toads, appeared under him, lifting him high into the air.

_"Gerotora informed me of what has happened. I am so sorry, kid."_ He rumbled sadly, even as he leapt towards where the Kyuubi No Kitsune was destroying the village in a blind rage.

"Just help me stop it from killing any more innocents." Minato ordered lightly, his voice shaking in barely suppressed grief. He had to save the village, he could break down later. If he repeated that to himself enough, maybe he could get through this.

 _" Very well, let's go kick some furry butt!" _ Gamabunta tried, in vain, to lift the mood a little. But Minato was unreceptive, already running through hand signs for some fire-based jutsu.

He knew it wouldn't make a dent in the massive orange chakra construct, but that wasn't his goal. You couldn't kill a chakra construct, you could only seal it.

Gamabunta jumped once he was close enough, slamming into the side of the Fox, who stumbled and let out an angry shriek. As expected, its attention was now firmly fixed on them.

"Quickly Gamabunta, we need to lure it away from the village." Minato hissed, continuing to send jutsu and kunai at the beast, making it follow them.

"Stop!" he shouted once they were in front of the altar. Minato jumped off the Toad, landing neatly next to Fish-san, who was holding a crying Naruto. He didn't have the time to ask where Eagle-san was, instead he took his son and placed him on the altar.

Gamabunta had restrained the Kyuubi the best he could, using his considerable weight to pin the fox down. He knew it wouldn't be long before the fox was free, he had no time to waste.

He raced through a handful of signs, chakra bands strapping his hours-old son to the altar as he placed the Seal on his stomach. It burned into the pale skin and his son writhed and fought against the restraints, screaming for all he was worth.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. There's no other way…" He twisted his hand on the Seal and it opened, a gaping hole in his small stomach.

But it couldn't be that easy as with a mighty snarl, the kyuubi wrenched free of Gamabunta, sending the toad king flying through the forest - thankfully, away from the village. There was a giant cloud of white smoke, the Toad most likely being forced to go back home to heal.

Minato panicked, even as he ran through the hand signs to call the Shinigami to this realm. With a rumble of thunder, the Death God split apart the fabric of the universe itself and appeared behind him.

The kyuubi was about to swipe a giant paw down onto them when glowing white chains grabbed hold of the Fox Demon at multiple points. Minato whirled around to see Kushina panting and in pain, but awake, the chains coming from her shaking hands.

"I can't hold it for long, be quick Minato!" She wheezed, hacking up blood as Boar-san set her down onto the grass. Minato thanked her as the chains forced the kyuubi to lay down on its belly, its jaws snapping at them in anger.

He'd done most of the work, all that was needed was the blood sacrifice. Before anyone could protest, Minato activated the Seal, coughing when the Death God's sword ran through his chest.

The ANBU screamed, horrified at what their Hokage had just done, at the fact that they couldn't prevent it, that they hadn't even known what he was attempting in the first place.

Kushina cried out, tears streaming down her face as she turned blurry eyes onto her impaled husband. The chakra chains dematerialised as all strength left her and she could only watch helplessly as the horrible situation finally caught up to her in full. The kyuubi attempted to stand, but it was too late.

The Death God started humming, a terrible wind picking up that made the rain pelt down on them even harder. It pulled at the Kyuubi, dragging it forward towards the altar where a screaming Naruto was still struggling against the binds.

The Fox Demon screeched and writhed and slashed and _howled_ as the Death God broke its form back down into crackling acidic Chakra.

It was a truly disturbing sight as the skin and fur peeled off and disintegrated into chakra that was quickly plunged into the gaping hole in Naruto's stomach. Then the muscles, the blood, the fat, the organs and the bones all became chakra.

Little Naruto passed out when the chakra of the Kyuubi No Kitsune was fully sealed inside him, the Seal closing on its own. The wind died down and the rain stopped, everything becoming still as the Death God pulled the Fourth Hokage towards it.

It plucked him off the end of its sword and swallowed his body in one gulp, the man having died from blood loss just as the ritual finished.

Crying, Kushina closed her eyes, feeling her body finally giving in to the strain. Her breathing stopped just as a distraught and bloodied Kakashi emerged from the trees.

Covered in several cuts and bruises, his mask gone and his clothes torn, his steps faltered as he saw the Hokage cloak on the ground soaked in blood. His breathing picked up as his mind went through all the ways that could have happened, none of them good.

Then he saw Boar-san cradling a pale and still Kushina-sama and all coherent thought left him. He rushed to her side, not caring who saw his tears as he held her lifeless body in his arms.

The other ANBU were openly crying too, falling to their knees with their masks still on. He couldn't believe it, in one night - in a handful of hours - his whole life had been destroyed. His precious people were gone, slaughtered because he couldn't protect them. It was like Obito and Rin all over again.

He let out a pained high-pitched whine, sounding more like his summons than ever before as he curled protectively around the body of the only family he'd had left. That was now taken from him too.

A warm hand burrowed into his hair as someone crouched behind him.

"I'm so sorry this happened, m'boy. I know how much they meant to you, how much they meant to us all." Hiruzen-sama stated quietly, voice thick with anger and grief and an incredible sadness that filled Kakashi's lungs and made it hard to breathe. He wanted to die, it just _hurt_ so much.

"Someone get Naruto a blanket!" Hiruzen-sama suddenly barked and Kakashi snapped his head up, eyes filling with more tears as he realised he still had a precious person left.

Naruto, the few hours old babe was lying on the altar, sleeping soundly. Kakashi was up and by his side just as Boar-san was about to wrap the boy in a thick, military blanket that all ANBU and Jounin carried in a little scroll. It was filled with all sorts of other things to help a shinobi survive, even if they lost their pack and were alone.

"I'll do it." Kakashi asserted quietly, picking up the boy with ease and wrapping him, burrito style, in the blanket. The fiercest of all ANBU officers refused to let Naruto go once he had him, riding out his grief with the reminder that not all was lost.

That there was still hope for his sanity in the cute little whiskered face peeking out from the burrito.

 

* * *

High above them, the man in the orange mask 'tsked' as he watched the pathetic shinobi mourn the loss of their Hokage and his wife. He might have failed in capturing the nine-tails, but at least he took out two of the most powerful shinobi the Leaf had in the process.

A red eye flicked to the newly minted jinchuuriki sleeping in the arms of the inu a little ways from the distraught shinobi.

Perhaps... he hadn't truly failed. He would have to see what He had to say about how they could use the events of this night to their advantage. The Mangekyou was successful in controlling the kyuubi, but it wasn't complete.

He wasn't strong enough yet. He glared down at the Hatake brat, the holder of his other eye. If only he had both.... The man sighed, knowing he couldn't take it back. It wouldn't survive a second implantation.

He would leave it for now, let the weakling rely on its power. It would only be that much sweeter when he came and took it. He might not be able to truly use it, but that didn't mean he was just going to leave it with an _outsider_.

Just as the first rays of sunlight became visible over the horizon, the man twisted out of existence, using the famous mangekyou's power to hop between dimensions.

He came out in an underground cavern, light footsteps echoing off the stone. They would have to reevaluate some of their plans, now that the Uzumaki brat held the nine-tails.

"How did it go?" A deep voice rasped, like they hadn't had a drink of water in decades. The man was amused at his own thoughts, sparing a small smile under his mask before he turned to the emaciated body of his ancestor.

He got to his knees and bowed his head in submission when those piercing red eyes focused on him, the gaze heavy and searching.

"As well as can be expected. A plan never survives first contact with the enemy, after all."


	2. Akuma No Kitsune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been a while...
> 
> Anyway, lots of POV jumps but I have hopefully outlined them clear enough.
> 
> Itachi bein' a bit of a mamabear. Just how I like him.

**Naruto**

He managed to wait until the other kids had left, the sun setting as they went back to their homes. Dinner more important than beating up the demon brat of Konoha.

Naruto sunk to his knees in the dirt, exhaustion making his arms shake as he tried not to heave. There was nothing in his stomach anyway. He eventually regained control of his breathing and sat back, licking the blood crusting at the corner of his mouth.

He came face to face with a boy. Naruto startled badly, unused to the proximity and his head smacked against the tree behind him.

He winced in pain, rubbing the back of his head. The boy continued to watch him, familiar twin orbs of obsidian set into even _more_ familiar bone structure as dark bangs framed pale skin.

 _Uchiha_ …His mind provided for him--though it wasn't Sasuke. No, this boy was older, fifteen or sixteen if Naruto had to guess.

The boy pulled away slightly, as if sensing his unease, but still in a crouch with calloused hands dangling harmlessly between his legs. _Ninja_ …well, it was to be expected with a clan like that.

"Why do you not fight back?" The Uchiha asked, the flat tone of his voice only softened by the honest curiosity he could hear underneath. Naruto shifted slightly, the cuts on his arms and hands itching as they scabbed over.

"They're civilians." He answered, unable to comprehend the thought of hurting someone weaker than himself. He gave the Uchiha a strange look.

"Why would I hurt someone I'm supposed to protect?" He asked, making the boy startle--which, for an Uchiha, was just the smallest widening of his eyes.

But Naruto was pretty adept at reading people, had to be if he was gonna survive the village's wrath. At least until he became a genin in five years, then he'd be strong enough to meet the glares head on without flinching.

"What if someone told you to, like the Hokage? What would you do then?" The boy asked and Naruto frowned, sensing a shift in the conversation.

 

**Itachi**

He knew that it would be difficult for the kid to answer, Itachi was struggling with it himself. But he felt like he had to talk about it with _someone_. Even if Uzumaki didn't understand the seriousness of the question.

But the boy surprised him by the sudden change in body language, expression turning serious with grim understanding. _'But he couldn't possibly know…'_

"Would it benefit the village as a whole?" He asked in return and Itachi had to look away, feeling a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty that was both familiar and not.

"He seemed to think so." Itachi said, before he flinched as he realised he'd just admitted to the existence of his mission. The blond's expression was pained in a way a seven year old shouldn't be capable of, and it was then he remembered _who_ he was talking to.

The unofficial demon brat of Konoha, a title that was neither earned or deserved but that didn't stop them from taking their anger and grief out on this boy. This boy who had nothing and no one, who had lost just as much if not more that night as those who hurt him.

A hand cupping his cheek startled him out of his brooding thoughts and his eyes flicked to warm blue. The boy smiled, slow and small like he wasn't used to the action and Itachi felt his heart squeeze in sympathy.

"If you don't do it, they might get someone else and they may not be as kind. At least you can make it as quick and painless as possible for them." The last of the Uzumaki's warned quietly, hand falling back to his lap.

 

**Naruto**

"How are your wounds?" The boy asked after a moment of silent contemplation, clearly trying to change the subject.

Naruto was filled with a strange mixture of amusement and wonder - amusement at how obvious the other boy was being about it and wonder that someone was talking to him at all--and for so long too!

He rather thought this was the longest conversation he's had with anyone that wasn't Jiji!

Naruto let him drop the heavy subject, but something of his thoughts must have shown on his face because the Uchiha tilted his head to the side like a confused dog.

The image made Naruto struggle to hold onto his humour, he didn't think the other boy would appreciate the thought of him laughing at him. Even if he _would_ make a cute puppy.

"It's fine, I heal real quick see!" Naruto smiled and held up his now healed arms, skin unblemished but for a few old scars that he'd gotten from the obaachan at the orphanage. She used to blame him for everything just so she could punish him.

He'd had his hands broken more times than he could count so there were scars criss crossing his skin like silvery ribbons and even with his healing ability some of the bones didn't sit quite right.

The boy didn't seem to be reassured by his smile though and grabbed his hands with a visible frown on his pretty face. Naruto wanted to smooth it away with his fingers but he knew people didn't like him touching them so he squashed the feeling.

"Who did this to you?" He asked and Naruto idly wondered if the boy knew just _who_ he was touching, _what_ he was giving his kindness to. The other kids thought he was diseased and avoided actually touching him unless it was to beat him up.

Should he tell him? Oh but it felt nice, to feel the warmth of someone else's skin on his. Naruto bit his lip, feeling tears welling up as he thought of how disgusted the boy was going to be once he knew.

 

**Itachi**

The sight of such mangled hands on someone so young made him seethe inside, barely able to contain the hissing bite at the end of his words. Hands like these…not even seasoned shinobi had hands _this_ bad.

Sure, in the line of duty things can get pretty messy - that's the job. But this kind of damage was deliberate, done over a long period of time.

What this meant...the Jinchuuriki had been systematically tortured--their _seven year old_ Jinchuuriki had been _tortured_. It appeared he had more throats to slit than he first thought. Nobody--not even 'demons'--deserved this kind of abuse, especially children.

Itachi looked up to see wide frightened blue eyes watching him. He was scared…of him? He was crying now…no no! That's not what he meant to do! Without thinking, Itachi pulled the little(too little, _suspiciously_ little) blond into his arms like he would Sasuke after a 'session' with their father.

The Uzumaki tensed for a moment longer than necessary before he let out a broken sob and wrapped his arms around Itachi's middle, crying in earnest now.

Itachi felt his heart break a little more at the true _grief_ and _despair_ and raw _hurt_ coming from the boy in borderline inhuman whimpers and whines.

Just what the fuck was the Hokage doing?! He was supposed to have been protecting the boy! Inu-sama was going to be so pissed!

"Shh, Naruto, it's okay. Just tell me who they are and I'll take care of it, they won't hurt you again. I promise." Itachi murmured into his sunshine mop, stroking his fingers through the surprisingly soft strands as the boy's cries quieted.

Itachi wasn't quite ready to let him go, sure in the knowledge that without something to hold onto he was likely to snap and hunt the bastards down himself.

But he could feel Uzumaki start to pull away and reluctantly let go, forcing him would only overwhelm the likely touch-starved child. It was a goddamn tragedy, this whole situation…it was a mess. A 'clusterfuck' as Izumo would say.


End file.
